Checking in with Gullo’s, a Shreveport Institution

Located at 724 E. Flournoy Lucas Road in Shreveport, Gullo’s Fresh Produce and Bake Shop is a family-run produce stand and bake shop that has been serving plate lunches, tamales, and some of the region’s best cheeseburgers for more than 30 years. I recently visited Gullo’s with KTAL 6 reporter Patrick Dennis to film a segment for KTAL’s “Route 6” feature. Visiting with the owners and staff – and eating some of their most popular creations – reminded me why this off-the-beaten-path gem is still thriving more than 30 years after the late Mr. Joe Gullo first opened for business: The food is incredible, the people are friendly, and the ambiance is as Louisiana as it gets. Where else can you buy fresh produce, locally-made preserves and jams, and a made-to-order cheeseburger combo?

Gullo’s is located on a farm, so food doesn’t get much more local. The tomatoes that top each hamburger travel about 30 feet from the garden where they are grown to the kitchen where they are sliced. Pecans collected from huge pecan trees on the property are used to make pies.

While the fantastic burgers may be the best-known Gullo’s specialty, my favorite things on the menu are the fried apple and peach pies. They may be the best fried pies anywhere in Louisiana, especially the peach. The shell is crisp and flaky, the inside packed with chunks of peach and a rich, buttery filling.

After she’d been interviewed (I’ll post a link to that feature as soon as it becomes available), Mrs. Theresa Gullo Hamilton – who owns and operates the restaurant with her husband, Russell – sat down with me and discussed the restaurant while flipping through the pages of her grandmother’s collection of hand-written recipes. “We’re Italian,” she said. “Food is how we express love.”

Gullo’s is open, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Saturday, with hot lunches served 11 a.m.-2 p.m. It is worth calling in advance to see if they have any hot fried pies.